Indexing Requirements:
- Enough time to index 100 photos within a 7 day period
- Ability to type accurately
- Ability to unzip a zip file OR willingness to share a folder in dropbox- Ability to use Excel, Open Office, Google Docs or similar spreadsheet software

How it works:
1. You sign up as a volunteer
2. We send you a batch of photos to index
3. You index the photos and send back just the index once complete (you can then delete the photos)

That's it!

After signing up and confirming your desire to index, you will be sent an e-mail with a link where you can download a batch of photos to index (they'll be in one zip file). Once the file has downloaded, open it and start indexing!

The zip file will be named with your name and the cemetery ID code (e.g. Jane-MBERD0212.zip). Within the zip file there should be a file called 'BlankCopy.xls'. This is the indexing template (if this file is not included you can download it here). Open it, then rename it using your first name and the cemetery ID code* (e.g. Jane-MBERD0212.xls). Be sure to keep the blank copy blank so you always have one handy 'just in case'.

When finished indexing, attach just the index to e-mail and send it back to the volunteer coordinator (you can reply directly to the e-mail used to send you the download link). Do not send back the photos, they can be deleted once you're finished.

Spreadsheet software makes it very easy to create an index. Coordinators of this project use mostly Excel but ANY software that can save to .txt format can be used to index photos (including Open Office & Google Docs).

FIRST NAME First, middle & nickname of person. Titles can also be included but please place them at the end (eg. John, Dr.). Please use mixed case.

MAIDEN NAME Maiden names of females if known

SURNAME Last name, please type it in CAPITALS

DEATH YEAR Year of death - year only!

BIRTH YEAR Year of birth - year only!

AGE Age of person if indicated on the stone

RELATIONSHIP To be used only if both the Death Year and Birth Year columns contain no information. Indicate here if the person is a spouse, parent, sibling, child, etc. to the primary person named on the stone.

COMMENT To be used to include other information that does not fit elsewhere. If a stone is difficult to read a transcription can be typed here.

SECTION For large cemeteries that are divided into named sections, put the name of the section here.

Note To Admin This is where you can leave a note for the Project administrator. Does a photo need to be rotated? Have a question? Any comments put in this column will NOT be placed online.

*Photos do NOT need to be renamed for indexing. It's actually easier & faster to use the name assigned by your camera. If you do choose to rename the photos consider using a numbering system in lieu of just the names in the photos, ie. 001-BROWN-John.jpg, 002-BUTTONS-Susan.jpg

The purpose of indexing is to assist visitors in finding the photo(s) they're seeking. The photo will then provide additional information.

If a stone can be read by viewing the photo there is no need for a full transcript and we encourage that photo be indexed only.

However, if a headstone is hard to read or cannot be read from the photo and you can decipher what is written, you are welcome to transcribe the headstone in the COMMENT column. (see: transcribing a photo)

Each person gets their own line in the index (no one shares!). For example, if a stone has five names you would use five lines in the index - one for each person.

Each line should be accompanied by the # or name of the photo (without this information it's impossible to tie the index to the photos!)

Example:
Photo #1 would index like this:

*Relationship is to be used only if both Birth Year & Death Year are blank. The relationship is used to explain why someone is named on a stone that is not theirs. In this example John & Mary are on Sarah's stone only because they are her parents.

It's requested that you index every name on each stone, however there is one exception - living persons.

Some are obvious to spot, there is a birth date within the past 95 years but no death date. These are usually pre-set stones standing in preparation for the future, or stones where one spouse has died but the other has not.

Some are not as obvious to spot, for example relatives named on a stone for someone who was born within the past 95 years. There are no dates for the relatives so some guesswork* is needed to determine if they should be considered living (if in doubt, go with yes).

All living pre-set stones can be indexed two ways (e.g. Photo #A):
1. Use two lines and index all as (living) with their birth year
2. Use one line, index as (living) with no dates (use this option if birth year information isn't available)

Mix of living/deceased pre-set stones can be indexed two ways (e.g. Photo #B):
1. Index just the deceased
2. Index everyone** on the stone, replacing the names of those still living with (living).
** The trouble with indexing everyone is you end up with multiple identical entries unless birth dates are present. To avoid this please enter just one (living) to represent them all.

"Parents of"... (e.g. Photo #C):
Many stones now include inscriptions that include the names of children & grandchildren, not as pre-set information for future burial but as relationship information. Do not include this information in the index.

Photo #A:

Photo #B:

Photo #C:

Keep an eye out for 'forgotten' pre-set stones. These are easy to spot - the date of birth is 95+ years ago but there's no death date. Assume they are deceased and index as such with a ? in the DEATHYR column.

* Guesswork: When trying to determine whether to type in a name or use (living) take your cue from birth dates.

- Parents: Can be indexed if their child was born 70+ years ago.
- Spouses: Can be indexed if their spouse was born 95+ years ago OR if you replace their first name with (living).
- Siblings: Can be indexed if their brother or sister was born 95+ years ago OR if you replace their first name with (living).
- Children: Should only be indexed if their parent(s) were born prior to 1900.

With large monuments some photographers will take a distant photo that shows the entire stone, then several close-up photos so the inscription can be read. For these photos, please index the distant photo by surname only (leave all other fields, except for photo #, blank).

The Photo # is the name or # of the photo (ie. DSC00565.jpg) This is important as without a photo name/number there is no way to tie the photos to the index. Please be sure that for every name on a photo that is indexed, that the PHOTO# field is filled in.

If indexing your own photos:

If you have renamed your photos using a numbering system (e.g. 001-BROWN-John.jpg) use just the number as the PHOTO# in the index, it'll save you some typing!

If indexing others photos:

The photos will come named with a cemetery code (e.g. CAA11000-001-CanadaGenWeb-Cemetery-Province-Locality.jpg). Use the part between the first two dashes as the photo #, in this example the photo # would be 001.

The FIRST NAME field is for first, middle, nickname and title of each person. Please use mixed case when entering the name.
- The first name should always go first even if the person had a title.
- Middle name should go after the first name but before nickname & title.
- Put nicknames in "quotation" marks (no brackets please!).
- Titles should go at the end.

*Note that in photo #6 Michael Gross was indexed just once, as a spouse, even though he is shown further down the stone as a father. It's not uncommon especially when a parent & child are buried together, for those instances choose the spouse relationship for the index.

As noted above, when indexing a photo a transcript is not needed if the photo can be read. However if a photo is difficult to read a transcript can be helpful.

First, index the photo, then type a transcript into the COMMENTS column. Put a / where there is a line break. Please do not put any carriage returns into the index, the transcript should end up in one long line like this:

Phebe / relict of / Charles Gage / who died Nov 1st 1884 / aged 74 years / Mother thou art gone to rest / We will not weep for thee / For thou art now where oft on Earth / Thy spirit longed to be

* Note to transcribers: When indexing a transcript please be sure to each index person named on a stone separately, then copy the transcript into the COMMENTS field of each person.